John Calipari's one-and-done title at Kentucky comes with no tarnish

Associated PressJohn Calipari is finally No. 1 after his Kentucky team took the NCAA title with players who figure to be headed straight to the NBA.

The worst fears of basketball purists were realized Monday night when John Calipari and his lineup of precocious underclassmen brought Kentucky to the national title.

It wasn't easy. Kansas put up a terrific fight in Kentucky's 67-59 victory. But the Wildcats prevailed, so expect the moral debate to begin anew.

This time, it's not suspicion of impropriety by Coach Cal's program, but a tactic that is perfectly within the NCAA's own rules. Calipari has made a practice of recruiting freshmen who use higher education as a rest stop on their way to the NBA.

Calipari's championship starting lineup consisted of three freshmen and two grizzled sophomores. Staying two years at Lexington is like doing grad school anywhere else.

Coach Cal has made one-and-done careers a recruiting tool and even an art form. Guys come to Lexington, knowing they will stay for one year and jump to the NBA.

People have found many reasons to criticize Calipari, some more legitimate than others. This is the lamest one yet.

If Calipari cared only about himself, he would not encourage this revolving door. As he has said, if stars are thinking about his family, they'll stay; if they're thinking about their families, they'll leave.

You may not like one-and-done, but it's honest. Everything is on the table. Everyone knows what is going on and why.

There is no hypocrisy to it. That is more than the NCAA, with its the masquerade of amateurism while realizing a windfall profit, can say.

Calipari's past makes it easy to find flaws with whatever he is doing now. Vacated Final Four appearances at Massachusetts and Memphis are on his record, even though the NCAA absolved him of responsibility in both cases,

Calipari has now reached the pinnacle, a long way removed from his head-coaching beginnings at UMass in 1988. His name will wind up on a Hall of Fame ballot someday, and it will be interesting to see how his incredible record is balanced against his penchant for controversy.

Just because he's an easy target does not make one-and-done wrong. This is a totally different issue, one in which he should not have to justify his side but easily could.

The NCAA is making billions off these kids. Calipari is less concerned about the tournament's image, or his own, than the future of his players - even temporary players.

Think about that, and tell me which side is the truly hypocritical one here.